ABOUT JAGUARS | VIDEO | SIDE TRIPS
>>STOP 2: AMAZON RAIN FOREST
As your plane lands, the sun rises in Brazil's rain forest along the Amazon River. You make your way into the lush growth of the hot, dense forest. You're eager to spot a jaguar hunting. You and your guide search for a cat that a scientist has been following using a tracking device. The jaguar's spots camouflage it so well that the cat is hard to find. Finally, it appears, leaping suddenly from the underbrush into a small clearing.
You notice the jaguar's short, compact body and big head. A jaguar easily drags prey two or three times its weight great distances. To match that strength, you'd have to be able to drag three of your friends at once—with your mouth!
You watch as the jaguar settles into a hidden spot, waiting to ambush a deer. As the unsuspecting animal wanders by, the cat pounces, killing the deer by piercing its skull with its powerful bite. You learn that the jaguar is the only big cat that uses this method to kill prey. It can even bite through a tortoise's shell.
Like the tiger, this cat likes to swim—and fish. Your guide tells you about the time he watched a jaguar wait patiently at the edge of a stream until a fish swam by. Then swoosh! The cat scooped the fish out with its paw for a snack. Now it's time for your next destination—Antarctica. Good thing you brought your coat.
